Portable auger rig

ABSTRACT

An auger rig for use for a portable ice auger is disclosed. The rig includes a support structure and an auger carriage movable between a raised position and a lowered position via a drive mechanism for drilling an ice hole. In illustrated embodiments, the rig is connectable to a vehicle or wheeled apparatus through a hitch attachment for transport. As described, the rig includes a throttle control feature to retain an auger in an idle mode while in the raised position and engage and rotate the blade of the auger as the auger carriage is lowered to drill a hole through the ice or other medium.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to provisional application Ser.No. 62/563,911 filed Sep. 27, 2017 and entitled AUTO ICE HOLE, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into the presentapplication in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Hand held augers have a variety of uses including drilling ice fishingholes. Such augers are typically heavy and difficult to transport. Thepresent application relates to an auger rig for use for a hand heldauger.

SUMMARY

The present application relates to a portable auger rig and inparticular a rig for an ice auger. In an illustrated embodiment the rigincludes a support structure including upright supports and an augercarriage movable along guide rails on the upright supports between araised position and a lowered position through a drive mechanism. Thecarriage includes a plurality of support arms for an auger to raise andlower the auger for drilling holes. A hitch attachment is coupled to thesupport structure to transport the rig to an ice fishing hole, forexample. A guard rim is coupled to the support structure to provide aprotective barrier for the auger blade.

The present application relates to a portable auger rig including anauger carriage coupled to a support structure and movable between araised position and a lowered position through a drive mechanism. Theauger carriage includes a plurality of support arms for an auger. Ahitch attachment and plurality of wheels are coupled to the supportstructure. The present application relates to an auger rig including athrottle control feature configured to maintain the auger in an idlemode in a raised position and to engage and rotate the blade of theauger as the auger carriage is lowered to drill a hole.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective illustration of an embodiment of a portableauger rig of the present application.

FIG. 1B is a bottom view of a support structure and base frame of theauger rig illustrated in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C is a rear perspective view of the portable auger rig illustratedin FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A illustrates an embodiment of an auger carriage for a portableauger rig of the present application.

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view generally taken along line 2B-2B ofFIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a detailed view of the profile of the support arms.

FIG. 2D illustrates interface of rollers on the carriage of FIG. 2Aalong guide rails of the upright supports.

FIG. 3A is a perspective illustration of an alternate embodiment of aportable auger rig of the present application.

FIG. 3B is a side illustration of the embodiment of the portable augerrig as shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is a detailed illustration of portion 3C of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3D is a detailed illustration generally of portion 3D of FIG. 3A.

FIGS. 4A-4B schematically illustrate a throttle control device orstructure for controlling a throttle lever on a portable auger fordrilling.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate another embodiment of a throttle control deviceor structure for controlling the throttle lever of a portable auger fordrilling.

FIG. 6A illustrates an embodiment of a wheeled auger rig of the presentapplication.

FIG. 6B is an exploded view of a dolly for an embodiment of the wheeledauger rig of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The present application relates to a rig for a portable auger of thetype having a rotating auger blade and handles for transport and use.The auger can be a gas or electric powered auger. In illustratedembodiments, the auger is an ice auger for drilling ice fishing holes.In an illustrated embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A-1B the rig 100 includes asupport structure 102 and auger carriage 104 to raise and lower theauger to drill ice fishing holes. The support structure 102 as shownincludes a plurality of upright supports 110A, 110B coupled to a baseframe 112. The auger is supported via spaced support arms 114A, 114Bcoupled to the auger carriage 104 movable between a raised position anda lowered position via drive mechanism 120. In particular, the carriage104 is movable along guide rails 122 coupled to the upright supports110A, 110B to raise and lower the auger (not shown).

Operation of the drive mechanism 120 to raise and lower the augercarriage 104 is controlled through circuitry via user inputs asschematically shown in block 124. User input is provided through acontrol panel or one or more control buttons or input devices coupled tothe support structure 102 or input from a remote device transmitted viaknown communication protocols to the control circuitry. The rig 100 isconnected to an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or other wheeled structurethrough a hitch attachment 130 having a hitch adapter 132 coupled to ahitch frame 134 connected to the support structure 102.

In the embodiment shown, the hitch frame 134 is connected to the uprightsupports 110A, 110B of the support structure to connect the hitchattachment 130. The upright supports 110A 110B includes a plurality ofsets of vertically spaced fastener openings or features 136 sized toconnect to fastener openings or features on the hitch frame 134 (onlyshown for upright support 110A in FIG. 1A). The fastener openings orfeatures 136 on the hitch frame 134 can be attached to any one of thesets of openings 136 depending upon the desired elevation of the hitchadapter 132. In the embodiment shown, the hitch frame 134 includes three(3) fastener openings spaced to align with any one of the plurality ofsets of three vertically spaced fastener openings 136 on the uprightsupports 110A, 110B.

In the embodiment shown, the rig 100 includes an outer guard rim 140 toprotect the blade of the auger (not shown). As shown, the guard rim 140is generally semi-circular shaped to provide space and clearance for theauger blade. In an illustrated embodiment, the guard rim 140 is formedof a metal structure to provide a protective boundary for the rotatingauger blade and is connected to the upright supports 110A, 110B of thesupport structure. As shown in FIG. 1B, the base frame 112 is generally“U” shaped and includes a middle section 150 and opposed side sections152 angled relative to the middle section 150. The upright supports110A, 110B are coupled to the opposed side sections 152 so that uprightsupports 110A, 110B are spaced a distance apart for movement of theauger carriage therebetween. The support structure is reinforced viaribs 154.

In the embodiment shown, the rig 100 includes upper and lower limitcontrols 160U, 160L to limit the stroke of the auger carriage 104. Thelimit controls 160U, 160L can be electrical sensors or mechanicaldevices which interface with control circuitry for the drive mechanismto limit operation of the drive mechanism beyond the control limit. Asdescribed in illustrative embodiments, the rig 110 includes a throttlecontrol feature or structure 166 (as schematically shown in FIG. 1A) tointerface with a throttle lever on an auger to idle the auger in theraised position and engage the throttle to rotate the auger blade as thecarriage 104 lowers the auger for drilling.

FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate an embodiment of the auger carriage 104 andsupport arms 114A, 114B. The carriage 104 is formed of a box structure170 having a cross-beam 172 connected between opposed sides of the boxstructure 170. Arms 114A, 114B are coupled to and supported by the crossbeam 172. The drive mechanism 120 is coupled to the carriage 104 throughthe cross-beam 172 as shown to move the auger carriage 104 for drilling.The support arms 114 are slidably coupled to the cross-beam 172 toadjust the spacing between the support arms 114A, 114B to accommodatedifferent sized augers.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the support arms 114A, 114B include a bracket 176having a plurality of elongate fastener slots 180 which interface withfastener holes 182 on the cross-beam 172 to adjustably connect thesupport arms 114A, 114B to the auger carriage 104 through fasteners orbolts. The elongate slots 180 allow for placement adjustment of the arms114A, 114B relative to the cross-beam 172 to adjust the spacing betweenarms 114A, 114B. When connected, the arms 114A, 114B extend outwardlyfrom the brackets 176 to support an auger for use. In an illustratedembodiment, arms 114A, 144B have a generally “V” shaped profile as shownin detail in FIG. 2C to hold and support auger handles (not shown).While in the illustrated embodiment described, the brackets 176 includeslots 180 to adjust the width dimension, application is not limited tothe embodiment described as the cross-beam 172 can include slots toadjust the spacing or width dimension between arms 114A, 114B.

As previously described, the auger carriage 104 moves along a guiderails 122 along the upright supports 110A, 110B. In particular, the boxstructure 170 includes a plurality of rollers 190 along opposed sides ofthe box structure 170. In the illustrated embodiment, the carriage 104includes four rollers 190. As shown in more detail in FIG. 2D, therollers 190 move along guide rails 122 along the upright supports 110A,110B. Illustratively, the rollers 190 are formed of a nylon rollermaterial with bearings and the guide rail 122 is formed of a metaltrack.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate another embodiment for the rig 100 of the presentapplication where like numbers refer to like parts. In the embodimentshown, the drive mechanism 120 includes a drive chain 200 and sprocketwheels to raise and lower the auger carriage 104. The chain 200 iscoupled to a passive sprocket wheel 204A and a powered sprocket wheel204B which is rotated via drive motor 206. In illustrative embodiments,the motor 206 is an electric powered motor, such as a 12V batterypowered electric motor. Alternatively, the motor can be powered throughelectrical circuitry of a vehicle or ATV via an electrical cable orharness. Rotation of the drive motor 206 rotates the sprocket wheel 204Bto raise and lower the auger carriage 104 through chain 200 which in theillustrated embodiment is coupled to the carriage through cross-beam 172shown in FIG. 2B. The motor 206 is operated to raise and lower the augercarriage 104 through user inputs or controls as previously described.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the motor and powered sprocket wheel 204B arecoupled to a cross beam 210 of the support structure between the uprightsupports 110A, 110B. As shown in FIG. 3D, the passive sprocket wheel204A is coupled to the base frame 112 through stand 212 coupled to thebase frame 112 through platform 214. For operation of the auger, the rigincludes an auger throttle control device or structure 166 which isconfigured to interface with a throttle lever on the auger to retain thethrottle lever in an idle position prior to use while the auger carriageis in the raised position. For use, the auger throttle control device orstructure 166 engage the throttle lever to rotate the auger blade foruse.

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate an embodiment of an auger throttle control deviceor structure of the present application. As shown, the throttle controlstructure includes a clamp mechanism 230 coupled to the carriage or arms114A. The clamp mechanism 230 includes a rotating clamp 232 normallybiased to engage the throttle lever to rotate the auger blade. When theauger carriage 104 is in a raised position, clamp 232 is rotated againsta spring bias via contact feature 234 to position the throttle lever 235on auger handle (schematically shown) in an idle position. As thecarriage 104 moves downwardly and the clamp 232 moves below the contactfeature 234, the clamp 232 rotates to the spring biased position to movethe throttle lever from the idle position to engage and rotate the bladefor use.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate another embodiment of an auger throttle controldevice or structure for maintaining the throttle lever on the auger inthe idle position while the auger carriage 104 is raised prior to useand engaging the throttle lever to rotate the blade as the augercarriage 104 is lowered for drilling. In particular, as shown, thecontrol device or structure is an upright post 240 having an upperramped surface 242 positioned to engage the throttle control lever inthe raised position to move the lever to the idle position. As thecarriage 104 is lowered below the ramped surface 242 the throttlecontrol lever is moved to engage the blade for drilling. While theillustrated embodiments disclose different auger throttle controldevices or features, application is not limited to the embodiments andconfigurations shown and different configurations can be implemented aswill be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

In illustrated embodiments the rig includes a plurality of wheels 250coupled to the support structure 102 for transport. In one embodimentshown in FIGS. 6A-6B, the rig utilizes a wheeled dolly 252 having aplurality of wheels 250 coupled to a dolly frame 254. As shown, thedolly frame 254 is a generally rectangular shaped enclosure which formsan opened area to accommodate the auger blade (not shown) supported bythe auger carriage 104. As shown, the dolly 252 includes a support post260 having a support plate 262 to support the load of the auger toreduce load on the support structure 102. The support post 260 isconnected to the dolly frame 254 through cross beam 264. In anillustrated embodiment, the support post 260 includes a tubular shapedbody which is connected to cross-beam 264 via pin 266 sized forinsertion into a channel of the tubular shaped support post 260 body. Itshould be understood, application is not limited to the embodiment shownin FIGS. 6A-6B and other designs or arrangements can be employed.

In an example embodiment, the upright supports 110A, 11B are formed of ametal material and are spaced 28 inches apart and the motor 206 is a DCmotor with gear reduction and the drive chain 200 is a #40 chain,although application is not limited to a particular configuration ordesign.

While illustrated embodiments have been described, application is notlimited to the illustrated embodiments and changes and modifications canbe made to the illustrated embodiments as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art. Furthermore it should be understood that theinvention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the following drawings. Theinvention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or ofbeing carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, theterms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variationsthereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirectmountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected”and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connectionsor couplings.

What is claimed:
 1. An assembly comprising: a support structureincluding a plurality of upright supports; an auger carriage movablealong guide rails along the upright supports between a raised positionand a lowered position through a drive mechanism and the auger carriageincluding a plurality of spaced support arms to support an auger; ahitch attachment including a hitch adapter coupled to the supportstructure to connect the assembly to a vehicle or wheeled apparatus; anda guard rim coupled to the support structure to provide a barrier for ablade of an auger supported by the support arms of the auger carriage.2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the guard rim is a semi-circularshaped rim connected to the support structure.
 3. The assembly of claim1 wherein the support structure includes a plurality of sets of spacedfastener openings configured to aligned with fastener openings on thehitch attachment to adjust a height elevation of a hitch attachmentconnection to the support structure.
 4. The assembly of claim 1 whereinthe drive mechanism includes a chain coupled to a passive sprocket wheeland a powered sprocket wheel rotated through a motor.
 5. The assembly ofclaim 4 wherein the motor is operated through one or more input controlsof a control panel coupled to the support structure and configured tointerface with the motor through control circuitry.
 6. The assembly ofclaim 5 including a wired connection connecting the input controls onthe control panel to the control circuitry.
 7. The assembly of claim 1wherein the support arms of the auger carriage are adjustably coupled toa frame of the auger carriage to adjust a width dimension between thearms.
 8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the support arms are adjustablycoupled to the auger carriage through cooperating slots and fastenersopenings on the support arms and the carriage frame.
 9. The assembly ofclaim 8 wherein the slots are on brackets of the support arms whichinterface with the fastener openings on a cross-beam of the augercarriage.
 10. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the support arms have a“V” shaped cross-sectional profile.
 11. An assembly comprising: an augercarriage movably coupled to a support structure to move between a raisedposition and a lowered position through operation of a drive mechanismand the auger carriage including a plurality of support arms spaced tosupport handles of an auger; and a throttle control structure coupled tothe support structure and configured to engage a throttle lever of theauger supported by the support arms to maintain the throttle lever in anidle position in the raised position and engage the throttle lever asthe auger carriage moves from the raised position to the loweredposition to rotate a blade of the auger.
 12. The assembly of claim 11wherein the throttle control structure includes a throttle clamp coupledto at least one of the plurality of support arms on the auger carriageand the throttle clamp is normally biased in a non-idle position and ismoved against the normal bias when the auger carriage is in the raisedposition to maintain the throttle lever in the idle position.
 13. Theassembly of claim 12 wherein the clamp is moved against the normal biasvia a contact feature coupled to the support structure.
 14. The assemblyof claim 11 wherein the drive mechanism include a drive chain coupled tothe auger carriage and rotated via operation of a motor.
 15. Theassembly of claim 11 and comprising: a hitch attachment including ahitch adapter to connect the support structure to a vehicle or wheeledapparatus.
 16. An assembly comprising: a rig including a supportstructure and an auger carriage movable between a raised position and alowered position and the auger carriage including a plurality of supportarms spaced to support handles of an auger; a drive mechanism coupled tothe auger carriage and operable to move the auger carriage between theraised position and the lowered position; a hitch attachment coupled tothe support structure; and a plurality of wheels coupled to the supportstructure.
 17. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the drive mechanismincludes a drive chain coupled to the auger carriage and rotated viaoperation of a motor and sprocket wheels.
 18. The assembly of claim 16wherein the plurality of wheels are attached to a dolly and the supportstructure is supported on the dolly.
 19. The assembly of claim 18wherein the dolly includes an auger support post configured to support aweight of an auger supported on the arms of the auger carriage.
 20. Theassembly of claim 19 wherein the dolly includes a perimeter frame havinga cross beam and the auger support post is coupled to the cross beam.